The World Trade Organization has warned that the outlook for global trade has “deteriorated sharply” in the wake of President Donald Trump’s tariffs regime.

World Trade Organization says trade between US and China is expected to plunge by 81% in ‘decoupling’

Donald Trump’s tariffs will send international trade into reverse this year, depressing global economic growth, the World Trade Organization has warned.

In its latest snapshot of the global trading system, the Geneva-based institution says it had previously expected goods trade to expand by a healthy 2.7% this year. As a result of Washington’s trade policy, it is now forecasting a 0.2% decline.

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Retail sales were expected to increase 1.2% in March, according to the Dow Jones consensus.

Whether deep-sea mining will transform the US’s geopolitical fortunes is unclear

Also in today’s newsletter, being a member of the Net-Zero Banking Alliance just got a heck of a lot easier

Worsening global outlook makes ‘gradual and careful’ approach on interest rates by Bank of England more difficult

• UK inflation falls to 2.6%, increasing pressure on Bank to cut interest rates
• Business live – latest updates

Cooling inflation, resilient wage growth, and an economy outperforming expectations. After the turmoil since Donald Trump’s “liberation day”, there are some signs that Britain entered the crisis in reasonable shape.

The trouble is, the good news is unlikely to last long. The bigger-than-expected decline in inflation to 2.6% in March will come as a welcome reprieve for hard-pressed households. But it is a snapshot from a rear-view mirror, on an increasingly rocky journey.

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